The present invention relates to a wearable manufacturing assistance device for supporting a manufacturing tool, in particular for supporting a technician in holding a manufacturing tool during manufacture of an aircraft or spacecraft.
The manufacturing assistance device comprises a body unit and an arm member. The body unit includes fastening means for fastening the body unit to the back of a technician in a normal, intended wearing position. The arm member has an elongate form and may be circular, elliptic, or polygonal cross section with a constant diameter along its length. However, the diameter may also change along its length, either continuously or gradually, so that various sections with different diameters are provided. The arm member has an attachment end attached to the body unit, and a tool end opposite to the attachment end. At the tool end the arm member comprises a mounting device for mounting a manufacturing tool to the arm member.
Similar manufacturing assistance devices for supporting heavy manufacturing tools during manufacture of various technical devices are known in the art. For example, third arm devices or zero-g arm devices are known comprising an arm member for holding a manufacturing tool, such as a drill, in order to support a technician in holding the tool, especially when the tool has a considerable weight and has to be held by the technician over a longer period of time. The arm member can be mounted either to the technical device which is manufactured itself, or to a separate support stand.
Alternatively, the arm member might also be mounted to a body unit which is fastened to the body of a technician, so that the technician can carry the arm member with him and is flexible with respect to his position along the technical device to be manufactured. Such third arm devices or zero-g arm devices which are fastened to the body of a technician are often combined with exoskeletons further supporting the technician in moving his body under the load of the manufacturing tool and the third arm device or zero-g arm device.
However, for the manufacture of some specific technical devices, such as aircraft or spacecraft, where a technician has to perform a lot of overhead work and work in narrow spaces where he has to work on his knees or in a bent position, the known manufacturing assistance devices are less practical, since they require a considerable amount of equipment fastened around the torso of the technician, and the arm is mounted to the hip or the chest of the technician and extends from there upwards in front of his body, which is both bulky and disadvantageous for overhead work and work in narrow spaces, in particular when impact between the manufacturing tool or the manufacturing assistance device and structural parts of the aircraft or spacecraft have to be avoided in order not to cause damage on the structural parts.